Sunday, April 6, 2014

Tonight's the night when the most addictive, sexy, violent, geek-worthy show returns. HBO's Game of Thrones is a trendsetter in hair, makeup and fashion despite its historical and fantasy elements.

The stories of the characters are told in their dress and styling. With Kevin Alexander as head of hair and costume head Michele Clapton, you can see where each of your favorite women is in their lives just by looking at their outfit or hair.

Cersei's public and private personas are shown in her relaxed wavy hair versus her elaborately braided looks. Braids also show Daenerys initial innocence evolving into her allegiance with the Dothraki and eventually as leader. Sansa's hair gets worse and worse as the Lannister family keeps chipping away at her with the exception of the staged wedding to Tyrion.

Fashion-wise, The Lannister family stay united in the stark, red and golds of their family colors. Heavy leather and velvet evoke the weight on their family, the portrait collars on Cersei framing her face and ego. The extra heavy layers on Sansa's dainty frame indicate the burden the family has buried her under.

Margaery Tyrell though, shows her own independence in the blue hues of her wardrobe, with subtle golds as a nod to her upcoming nuptials to Joffrey. The plunging necklines are also there to seduce him away from his mother. Michele Clapton designed Margaery's evolving character to show in the creeping briar rose and thorns to indicate her ambitious social climbing. The wardrobe of Margaery shows increasingly rich fabrics also to show her increasing influence. Both in Sansa's and Margaery Tyrell's wedding dress, the designer indicates that costume fans should pay close attention to the embroidery, where the character's entire life story is woven into the motifs. Also, the train was made from hand cut rolled fabric and took 6 people several weeks to make (custom of course!)